scholarly journals The Ambivalent Conjunction of Modernity and Human Rights

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 29-36
Author(s):  
W. J. Situma
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
State Capitalism ◽  
Norms And Values ◽  
Abundant Evidence ◽  
Ultimate Moment

Modernity is a stage in societies’ development that is the corollary of enlightenment. It has variously been conceived to be the ultimate moment in the unfolding of human history in the sense that norms and values, and practices and institutions are nearly or at their most perfect. However, the conceived prelude to or realization of utopia does not accord with reality in many specific modern societies, even those that are generally considered to be the forerunners of modernity. In Africa, the onset of modernity and its extension into the diverse realms of human beings’ lives has entailed norms and values, and practices and institutions that are the genesis of dystopia. This article examines the ambivalent nexus of modernity and human rights in Africa from the onset of the modernization project to date. Using critical theory, the article argues that although modernity is credited with the birth of human rights, in Africa its primary actors, namely capital, the markets, and the state, are either ambivalent to and/or causal to widespread and deep human rights violations. The human rights violations are systemically and systematically cast as incidental and spurious rather than the hallmarks of modernity. Judicial, political, and educational institutions act and reiterate their capacities to address the incidental/spurious human rights violations, despite abundant evidence that, as part of modernity, these institutions are ambivalent to human rights and, therefore, can only mask the reality and perpetuate human rights violations. This general stance is the consequence of the pervasive logic of capital. This article explains how this pervasive phenomenon in its various forms, such as state capitalism and global capitalism, coupled with neopatrimonialism, has impacted the institution and practice of human rights in Africa. The analysis concludes that though modernity is credited with the birth of human rights regimes, its historicity has been causal of significant violations of human rights. The violations unleashed by capital are exacerbated by political elites who, in their processes of policy-making and budgetary deliberation, and implementation, marginally conceive nation-extensive notions of common good. Consequently, violation of human rights is rampant.

Dealing with international crimes in post-war Bosnia: A look through the lens of the affected population

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 553-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Jones ◽  
Stephan Parmentier ◽  
Elmar G.M. Weitekamp
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Political Transition ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
International Crimes ◽  
Local Populations ◽  
The Past ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Post War

Debates about serious human rights violations and international crimes committed in the past appear during times of political transition. New political elites are confronted with fundamental questions of how to seek truth, establish accountability for offenders, provide reparation to victims, promote reconciliation, deal with trauma and build trust. ‘Transitional’ or ‘post-conflict justice’ is most often managed by elites, national and international, while the views and expectations of the local populations are rarely taken into account. Population-based research can yield deep insights into strategies and mechanisms for dealing with the crimes of the past. This paper reports on the major findings of a study in Bosnia and on the factors that may contribute to trust and reconciliation in the country.

This Is Your Brain on Human Rights: Moral Enhancement and Human Rights

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Glenn Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Moral Enhancement ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Alternative Possibility ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Rights Law ◽  
Human Brains

Abstract It seems fair to say that human rights law takes the human as given. Human beings are particular kinds of entities with particular kinds of psychologies and propensities, and it is the job of human rights law and human rights enforcement to govern that kind of entity, be it through sanctions, education, incentives, or other mechanisms. More specifically, human rights law takes human brains as given. If humans were different kinds of beings, both the mechanisms of getting compliance and possibly the very rules themselves would be different. The purpose of this essay is to very tentatively start to tie together thinking in neuroscience, bioethics, and human rights law to ask whether human rights law should take the nature of human beings, and more specifically, human brains, as given. I sketch the alternative possibility and examine it from a normative and (to a lesser extent) scientific perspective: instead of merely crafting laws and setting up structures that get human beings such as they are to respect human rights, that the human rights approach should also consider embracing attempts to remake human beings (and more specifically human brains) into the kinds of things that are more respectful of human rights law. This is currently science fiction, but there is some scientific evidence that moral enhancement may one day be possible. I call the alternative “moral enhancement to respect human rights law.” To put the aim of the essay in its mildest form it is to answer the following question: if it becomes possible to use enhancement to increase respect for human rights and fidelity to human rights law (whatever you think is constitutive of those categories), and in particular in a way that reduces serious human rights violations, is it worth “looking into?” Or, by contrast, are the immediate objections to such an endeavor so powerful or hard to refute that going in this direction should be forbidden.

Subnational State Capacity and the Repression of Protest: Evidence from Mexico

2020 ◽  
pp. 106591292091949
Author(s):  
Heather Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
The State ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Central State ◽  
Level Data ◽  
State Agents ◽  
Original Event

While protests occurring in nationally democratic contexts rarely represent fundamental threats to the central state, they still need management when and where they occur. Thus, this paper suggests that, especially in federal countries, to explain the repression of protest, we must examine subnational politics. Subnational political elites, often tasked with protest management, can engage protesters and call for police restraint, but their capacity and authority affect their ability to carry out these tasks. The paper tests the theory using original event-level data on Mexican protests and responses and leverages within-country variations in democracy and state capacity. The paper shows that where subnational governments have bureaucratic capacity and where citizen linkages to the state cause them to see state agents as relevant, problem-solving authorities, protest events are less likely to be managed using a repressive response. In addition, the paper highlights a key difference between explanations of overall human rights violations and repressive responses to protest, namely, that electoral competition is not a significant factor reducing the likelihood of repressive responses to protest.

Santoso’s Jihadism, Deradicalization, and Humanization: A Preliminary Investigation on Indonesian Terrorism

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-178
Author(s):  
Herdi Sahrasad ◽  
Al Chaidar ◽  
Dedy Tabrani ◽  
Teuku Syahrul Ansari ◽  
Mai Dar
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Preliminary Investigation ◽  
Religious Conflict ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Community Groups ◽  
The Public ◽  
Unity In Diversity ◽  
The Way

Indonesia. The rise of acts of terrorism by Santoso at that time makes the public ask: How far is the deradicalization program? Why do the various community groups become more radical and brave against the apparatus/officers who promote the deradicalization program? Humanization leads to the prevention or overcoming of intensification of conflict and escalation of violence, covering the way for human rights violations or acts of genocide. Humanization refers to a strategy designed to reduce the dynamics of conflict that are destructive and face violence, especially terrorism, as the culmination of radicalism. Indonesia is still not free from inter-religious conflict. Religion, which should be eager to spread liberation and peace for our fellow human beings, is just often breached, even disturbing the integrity of Unity in Diversity. Deradicalization also include humanization because it takes the participation of sincere and serious attention.

scholarly journals Certification of fisheries human rights and its impact to protecting the rights of fishing vessel crew

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-81
Author(s):  
Muhammad Nur ◽  
M. Hajir Susanto
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Fishing Vessel ◽  
Literature Study ◽  
Indonesian Seas ◽  
Fishing Boat ◽  
Fishing Vessels ◽  
The Government ◽  
Cooperation System

The crew of fishing vessels is human beings, the absolute owners of human rights that have been universally recognized. To anticipate and overcome many human rights violations in the Indonesian seas, the Government, through the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries issued a Regulation of the Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries Number 35 of 2015 concerning Fisheries Human Rights Systems and Certification. This research further describes how the provisions of the fisheries' human rights certification and analyzes their impact on protecting human rights for fishing vessel crews in Indonesia. The author uses a normative juridical research method by examining library materials or other secondary materials. The data collection method used is a literature study. The tools used are documents in the form of primary, secondary, and non-legal legal materials. The data obtained were analyzed qualitatively and then presented descriptively. This study found that there are various forms of human rights violations against fishing boat crews. Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries then enforces regulation to prevent human rights violations by business actors against fishing vessel crews. There are several weaknesses in regulations and implementations, namely weaknesses in wage system arrangements, limited regulatory targets, the involvement of workers and employers' representatives in the fisheries human rights team that is not clear, weaknesses of the coordinating system for fisheries human rights teams with supervisors employment, weaknesses of fisheries human rights assessment institutions, weaknesses of socialization for employers and workers. The author suggests that it is necessary to strengthen the coordination and cooperation system between ministries in implementing Fisheries Human Rights Regulations. It also needs to improve communication and dissemination of policies and regulations to stakeholders.

Transitional Justice and Protracted Accountability in Re-democratised Uruguay, 1985–2011

2011 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 693-724 ◽  
Author(s):  
LUIS RONIGER
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Truth Commission ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Truth Telling ◽  
Political Forces ◽  
Electoral Democracy ◽  
Normative Expectations ◽  
The Government

AbstractThis article analyses the protracted process by which democratised Uruguay has come to terms with its legacy of human rights violations. Central to this process has been the nature of Uruguayan transitional policies and their more recent partial unravelling. Due to the negotiated transition to electoral democracy, civilian political elites approached the transitional dilemma of balancing normative expectations and political contingency by promulgating legal immunity, for years avoiding initiatives to pursue trials or launch an official truth commission, unlike neighbouring Argentina. A constellation of national and transnational factors (including recurrent initiatives by social and political forces) eventually opened up new institutional ground for belated truth-telling and accountability for some historical wrongs – and yet, attempts to challenge the blanket legal impunity failed twice through popular consultation and in a recent parliamentary vote. Each time, the government officially projected a narrative that sacralised national consensus and reconciliation, now enshrined in two sovereign popular votes, and the adoption of a forward-looking democratic perspective.

scholarly journals PESANTREN DAN PELANGGARAN HAM (Studi Analisa Tentang Ta’zir dalam Pesantren Salafy)

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 101
Author(s):  
Laila Ngindana Zulfa
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Boarding School ◽  
Boarding Schools ◽  
Deterrent Effect ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Learning Method ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Basic Rights

Abstrac Human rights are basic rights that are inherent and universal in human beings. In Indonesia, human rights have been protected by the laws that originate and lead to “Pancasila” . No one can interfere with human rights or eliminate its. In this contemporary era, many practitioners and education thinkers, who analyze about Ta'zir (A punishment) applied to Islamic boarding schools, especially in Islamic boarding schools with typology of salafy. Some people argue that Ta'zir is a form of human rights violations, others say there are not. In this discussion the author tries to provide an analysis related to Ta'zir which is a punishment given to students who violate the rules in the Islamic Boarding School, Is it included in the category of human rights violations that must be eliminated. Or is it just a learning method that aims to provide a deterrent effect on students who break the rules. Keywords: Human Rights, Islamic Boarding School, Ta'zir. Abstrak HAM merupakan hak dasar yang kodratnya melekat pada diri manusia dan bersifat universal serta langgeng. HAM di Indonesia dilindungi oleh UU yang bersumber serta bermuara pada Pancasila. Tidak ada satupun manusia yang boleh mengganggu ataupun menghilangkan hak asasi manusia (HAM). Banyak Praktisi dan pemikir pendidikan dizaman kontemporer ini yang menganalisa tentang Ta’zir (Sebuah hukuman) yang di terapkan pada pondok pesantren terutama pada pesantren yang ber-tipologi salafy. Sebagian berpendapat bahwa ta’zir merupakan salah satu bentuk pelanggaran HAM, sebagian lain mengatakan tidak terdapat pelanggaran HAM. Pada pembahasan ini penulis mencoba untuk memberikan analisa terkait Ta’zir yaitu sebuah hukuman yang diberikan kepada santri yang melanggar aturan dalam Pesantren, apakah termasuk dalam kategori pelanggaran HAM sehingga harus dihapuskan. Ataukah memang hanya sebuah metode pembelajaran yang bertujuan untuk memberikan efek jera pada santri pelanggar aturan. Kata Kunci: HAM, Pesantren, Ta’zir.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Human Rights Violations and Human Trafficking

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-55
Author(s):  
Julia Muraszkiewicz
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Crime Victims ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Legal Nature ◽  
The World ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings ◽  
The Relationship

Human trafficking is lucrative crime, often trans border, affecting every country in the world. In the course of this crime victims are subjected heinous experiences. Consequently the crime has been described as a grave violation of human rights. However, there are those that question the legal nature of trafficking in human beings, and whether it really is a violation of human rights. This article explores the relationship between human trafficking and human rights, and analyses what are the impacts of that relationship on State’s duties to fight the crime.

scholarly journals The Legal Framework on Human Trafficking in the UAE

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-436
Author(s):  
Aref Abdullah Mohmmed Alwadeai
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Human Trafficking ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
Legal Framework ◽  
Penal Code ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Trafficking In Human Beings

Trafficking in human beings is not accepted by the International Entities as a whole; because of the human rights violations that it entails and the woes that result from these acts. This research aims to identify the legal framework for crimes of trafficking in human beings in the UAE, and what made these legislations are distinquieshed in the CGC related to their phases of developments, by answering two main questions, firstly: What is the crime of human trafficking and its pillars? Secondly: what is the role of the UAE legislator in combating human trafficking crimes? The research followed the descriptive analytical approach. Finally: at the end of this research, number of results are reached related to the development of the UAE law as a special law for crimes of human trafficking as a complementary law to the Federal Penal Code. There are matters and procedures the UAE law must do it, for example, the need to criminalize the act of incitement to commit crimes of human trafficking in all its forms, by any means and whatever the legal or factual effect of this incitement.

The sorrow of empire: Rituals of legitimation and the performative contradictions of liberalism

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 623-645 ◽  
Author(s):  
TOM BENTLEY
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Textual Analysis ◽  
International System ◽  
International Order ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Historical Responsibility ◽  
State Accountability

AbstractUnexpectedly, several prominent European countries have begun to issue official state apologies to their former colonies. What does this proliferation of official colonial sorrow from such countries as Germany, Belgium, Italy, and Britain reveal about the normative tenets of the contemporary international order? This article analyses colonial apologies as crucial symbolic and ritualistic sites where state elites project liberal credentials and affirm liberal normative tenets in the international system. Specifically, the article demonstrates how these apologies for colonial atrocity appear to reinforce liberal conceptions of human rights, the renunciation of violence, cordial relations with formerly colonised states, and commitments to state accountability and transparency. Yet, textual analysis of several state apologies reveals that these performatives simultaneously contradict each of these liberal tenets. It finds that – even in apology – political elites reflect ambivalence about certain human rights violations; persist in glorifying or sanitising the violent colonial past; recycle paternalistic and hierarchical discourses and policies towards the apology's recipients; and offer contradictory notions of the state's historical responsibility. In exposing these performative contradictions of empirical sorrow, the article seeks to expand the discipline's understandings of, and dilemmas within, a key performative and ritualistic legitimation strategy whereby liberalism reproduces itself in the international system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document